Out& About
pers.co.uk www.taylornewspa r 20, 2017 r 14 - Wednesday, Septembe Thursday, Septembe
Your guide for your leisure time in & around Oxfordshire
It’s just a walk in the park Try Nordic Walk ing in Cutteslowe Park
GROUP Didcot, Wallingford, Thame & Henley-on-Thames Thursday, September 14 - Wednesday, September 20, 2017
oxfordshireguardian.co.uk
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Funding battle could put garden town in jeopardy County warns scheme could be ‘bumped down’ list of priorities By Eva Astreinidou THE £380million vision for Didcot Garden Town could be ‘bumped down’ a list of major improvement projects for Oxfordshire. Concerns over funding and deliverability of the scheme have been raised but South Oxfordshire District Council insists it should be a ‘top priority’ for funding from central government when it is deciding where to hand out cash for the county. But countywide proposals released by Oxfordshire Growth Board earlier this week, which include plans for A34 improvements and the Oxford to Cambridge rail link as well as the garden town, are also seeking funds from central government, which could mean there will be a delay in the delivery of the project. Speaking at a meeting of the joint overview and scrutiny committee of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils on Tuesday, SODC leader Cllr John Cotton said: “The [garden town] masterplan is an ovenready scheme. The difficulty is that the county council’s view is that the growth deal is intricately linked [with the Didcot garden town plans]. That’s not our view.”
A source said there is a feeling that the economic contribution of South and Vale is not equally represented in the Growth Board plans. But if South and Vale don’t pledge their support to the Oxfordshire plan this would potentially mean SODC needs to source its own funding for the garden town. Growth Board and Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said the confl ict lies with a bid for the cash from central government. He said the county council cabinet has to submit its bid, which would include funding for Didcot garden town, by the end of September. But, he said, lack of clarity in the scheme and its deliverability from SODC could mean the garden town gets ‘bumped down the list’. During the meeting, residents voiced their concerns over the masterplan including the relocation of the rail station, the pedestrianisation of Cow Lane and the lack of green space. The meeting comes after a six-week consultation with the public. The consultation received more than 480 responses which revealed that 45 per cent disagreed with the overall masterplan.
■ For more on the Oxfordshire Growth Board plan see page 9
10 years of playing to give charities a boost THE OXFORD PAPER and
Charity of the year 2017
GROUP
Play2Give Play2Give founder Andy Baker was all smiles as the fundraising group celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. The Didcot-based group, our Charity of the Year, has raised more than £60,000 and yesterday celebrated a decade of helping others. Turn to page 18 for the full story